Dec. 1999 — DVD-CCA files lawsuit in California against hundreds of DeCSS re-publishers alleging trade secret misappropriation including Andrew Bunner, who originally read about the software on Slashdot.

May 2000 – Bunner/DeCSS publishers appeal injunction to California Court of Appeals for the 6th District as an unconstitutional restraint on freedom of speech

July 2000 – Trial of 2600 Magazine in New York for publishing DeCSS code, in violation of DMCA’s ban against providing information or tools that help to bypass technological controls.The defense presented testimony by Jon Johansen, Emmanuel Goldstein, Mathew Pavlovich, Professor David Touretzky, and Professor Edward Felten, among others.

August 2000 – District Court in New York sides with the movie studios and permanently bans 2600 Magazine from publishing DeCSS or even hyperlinking to other web sites that publish the information.

Sept. 2000 – Mathew Pavlovich appeals to California appellate court contesting the lower court’s assertion of jurisdiction over him since he is a non-resident with no connection to the state.Pavlovich also appeals to California Supreme Court.

Dec. 2000 – California Supreme Court grants Mathew Pavlovich’s petition for review and orders the appellate court to dismiss the case or show why jurisdiction is proper over Pavlovich.

Jan. 2001 — 2600 Magazineappeals district court decision on First Amendment grounds.Over a dozen diverse groups filed amicus briefs with the appeals court urging reversal of the lower court’s decision to ban DeCSS, including the ACLU, American Libraries Association, numerous law professors, journalists and publishers groups, among other public interest groups.

August 2001 – California Court of Appeals for 6th District rules that it has jurisdiction over out-of-state defendant Mathew Pavlovich for publications made to the mailing list he maintained.

Nov. 2001 – California Appellate Court over-turned the injunction against Andrew Bunner based on the First Amendment rights of Web publishers who republish information obtained in public domain.–DVD-CCA appeals decision to California Supreme Court.

Dec. 2002 – Trial of Jon Johansen in Oslo City Court for building his own DVD playing software.

Dec./Jan. 2003 – U.S. Supreme Court initially grants and then withdraws a stay in lifting the injunction against Mathew Pavlovich pending DVD-CCA’s appeal of the California Supreme Court’s ruling that it lacks jurisdiction over Pavlovich.

Jan. 2003 – Norwegian court found Jon Johansen innocent since he was accessing his own property when he tried to watch his DVDs on his computer and he made no infringing copies of movies.–Prosecution attorneys announced they will appeal Johansen’s acquittal on Jan. 20, 2003.